WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2988/98 by Gerhard SCHMID to the Commission. Meat inspection fees pursuant to Directive 93/ 118/EC
Date: 1998-10-08
Institutions: European Parliament, SCHMID
Subjects: EU aid, costing, food inspection, fresh meat, health control, operating cost, poultrymeat, quasi-fiscal charge













EUR-Lex - 91998E2988 - EN






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91998E2988

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2988/98 by Gerhard SCHMID to the Commission. Meat inspection fees pursuant to Directive 93/ 118/EC  


Official Journal C 297 , 15/10/1999 P. 0040 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2988/98by Gerhard Schmid (PSE) to the Commission(8 October 1998)Subject: Meat inspection fees pursuant to Directive 93/118/ECDirective 93/118/EC(1) lays down lump-sum fees for meat inspections. A number of establishments obliged to pay fees have taken legal action against district authorities demanding higher fees.1. Can individual establishments invoke the Directive, which is addressed to the Member States?2. Can the lump-sum amounts be exceeded, without any requirements having to be satisfied, until they cover the actual costs?3. When costs are calculated, what is the point of reference: the individual authority or the total costs incurred by a Member State?Reply given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission(16 November 1998)1. The Commission is of the opinion that Council Directive 93/118/EEC of 22 December 1993 amending Directive 85/73/EEC on the financing of health inspections and controls of fresh meat and poultrymeat may not be invoked by individual establishments. This view is based on the application to the text and objectives of this Directive of criteria laid down by the Court of Justice.2. Directive 85/73/CEE, as amended by Directive 93/118/CEE, lays down flat-rate amounts for Community fees. These are based on a number of parameters, such as the average time needed for the inspection, administrative costs and staff costs. The Directive offers Member States a certain amount of flexibility starting from these central amounts.This solution is designed to ensure the effective functioning of the inspection system and avoid any distortion of competition. However, flexibility is conditional on certain requirements. In other words, Member States may request payment of amounts higher than the standard levels subject to certain conditions laid down in the provisions of both the Directive and its Annex. The first requirement is laid down in Article 2(3): "Member States shall be authorised to collect an amount exceeding the level or levels of the Community fees, provided that the total fee collected by each Member State is not greater than the actual figure for inspection costs."Member States must be able to justify their method of calculation (Article 2(5)). Once this requirement is satisfied, the Member States concerned may, for meat coming under Council Directive 64/433/EEC of 26 June 1964 on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in fresh meat(2), increase the standard amounts for fees for individual establishments, subject to the conditions laid down (Annex, Chapter 1(4)(a)), or "collect a special fee covering actual costs" (Annex, Chapter 1(4)(b)). There has been some debate about the meaning of the word "special". In the traditional sense, i.e. specific to a certain species and common to all individual animals of that species, this implies that the Member State may opt to increase the standard amount for fees above the Community level in line with costs actually incurred.3. The text refers to the total fees collected by each Member State.(1) OJ L 340, 31.12.1993, p. 15.(2) OJ 121, 29.7.1964.